Business Wire

Business Wire

Company type	Subsidiary
Founded	1961; 64 years ago (1961)
Founder	Lorry I. Lokey
Headquarters	101 California Street, San Francisco, California , U.S.
Number of locations	29 (2018)[1]
Key people	Geff Scott (CEO)[2]
Parent	Berkshire Hathaway
Website	www.businesswire.com

Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, social networks and other audiences.^[3][4] It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

History

Business Wire was founded in 1961^[5] by Lorry I. Lokey. It started by sending releases to 16 media outlets in California.^[6] Business Wire launched its website in May 1995.^{[citation needed]} In 2000, ahead of its main competitor PR Newswire, Business Wire ended the practice of distributing news to financial outlets 15 minutes before anyone else, to provide immediate, equal access to company information as noted by the SEC's fair disclosure regulation (Reg FD).^[7]

Business Wire's first wholly owned European operation launched in 2001, with the opening of an office in London.^[8] On June 1, 2005, Business Wire entered the German Ad-Hoc market with a disclosure network for companies with primary or secondary listings on the Deutsche Boerse. The service was established in compliance with BaFin, Germany's national securities regulator. On September 15, 2005, Business Wire established Regulatory Disclosure networks in France, Sweden, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The move came in anticipation of the anticipated implementation of the EU's Transparency Obligations Directive (TOD). On January 1, 2007, Autorité des marchés financiers, the French Financial Markets Regulator, approved Business Wire to operate as a Regulatory Disclosure Service in France.

On January 10, 2005, Business Wire established an Asian hub with the opening of its Tokyo, Japan bureau, and later that year added Japanese, making the site available in seven languages. On January 17, 2006, Berkshire Hathaway announced that it was purchasing Business Wire for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition was completed on March 1, 2006.^[9]

In 2008, Business Wire partnered with ImpreMedia to launch LatinoWire, a news distribution service that distributes brand content to Hispanic websites, media outlets, journalists and bloggers.^[10] In 2011, Business Wire received a patent for the technological process of optimizing and distributing press releases to maximize their ability to be found and tracked in leading search engines.^[11] The originality of the patent was questioned by SEO expert Danny Sullivan.^[11]

On September 23, 2013, Business Wire announces exclusive distribution partnership with VentureBeat^[12] On November 3, 2013, Business Wire opened its office in Hong Kong.^[13]

In January 2014, Business Wire launched a new news and content distribution enhancement service.^[14]

In April 2017, its chief executive officer and president, Cathy Baron Tamraz, retired and was replaced by longtime CFO Geff Scott.^[15]

See also

• List of press release agencies

References

1. "About Us". businesswire.com.
2. "Executive Committee – Business Wire Newsroom". newsroom.businesswire.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
3. Horgan, Richard (June 13, 2013). "Business Wire Pegs Press Release Costs Increase at 50%". Adweek. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
4. Conner, Cheryl (August 28, 2013). "Press Releases Still Matter, But Not For The Reasons You Think". Forbes. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
5. "Company Overview of Business Wire, Inc". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
6. "Biography of Lorry I. Lokey, founder of Business Wire". Stanford Medicine News Service. February 27, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
7. McGuire, Craig (September 25, 2000). "15 minutes are up at Business Wire". PR Week. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
8. Williams, Holly; Londner, Robin (February 23, 2001). "Business Wire to launch own Euro office in London". PR Week. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
9. "Berkshire Hathaway Completes Acquisition of Business Wire" (Press release). Business Wire. March 1, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
10. "Business Wire Launches 'LatinoWire' In Venture With ImpreMedia". Editor & Publisher. July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
11. Sullivan, Danny (September 29, 2011). "Warren Buffet's Business Wire Awarded Patent for Press Release SEO". Search Engine Land. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
12. "Business Wire Comes on as New Partner". VentureBeat. September 23, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
13. "PSA: Business Wire Announces Opening of Hong Kong Full-Service Office". Bulldog Reporter. November 4, 2013. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
14. Bradley, Diana (January 14, 2014). "PSA: Business Wire Launches Interactive News Services". PRWeek. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
15. "Correction to Buffett's Lieutenants Article". Fox Business. May 8, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.

External links

• Official website